Tag: tech
# 20 : The Jackal
A technological cultist, The Jackal
Once a former Loman Field Agent, Farwed Zachari came upon the Heliopolis Society and instead of preventing their operations of stealing one of the recently discovered Emerald Tablets of Thoth, assisted in their escape and killed two of his comrades. Now a member of the Heliopolis Society, Farwed was placed within the Order of Set and donned the guise of Set’s son, Anubis. As Agent Anubis, Farwed raided and stole experimental equipment from the Loman Institutes Research Labs and became the Heliopolis Society’s top agent.
Farwed began to take on contract work on the side and gave himself the handle , The Jackal, as a nod to his membership with the Heliopolis Society. Farwed’s biggest crime was the attempted highjacking of the Loman Organization’s top airship, The Abraxis. Though the Loman Organization’s personnel were successful in fending off the invasion, The Jackal still eluded capture and is still in possession of classified experimental tech.
Abilities: As a former Loman Agent, Zachari is knowledgeable of occult and ancient cultures, while trained in weapons and hand to hand combat. As a member of the Heliopolis Society, Zachari has expanded his knowledge in all aspects of the occult, while under the Order of Set, Zachari now possesses knowledge of black magic, particularly death curses.
In addition to mystical talents, Zachari possesses a prototype nanotech/memory cloth hybrid body armor with a neural interface that enables the suit to shapeshift into components to aid the user. These abilities also include a stealth mode and physical enhancements that make The Jackal an imposing threat.
Creation: Initially, The Jackal was going to be a tiger themed villain for a superhero comic, but once the project was abandoned, I set about in reworking the look. I came up with the Jackal idea and was setting him up as a street level foe, with a Ghost Rider spiked biker suit and chain belt. Then when working on the Loman Organization, I figured a way to implement him via elements of the real-life Heliopolis Society, which was an antagonistic force in Dark Horse’s Edward Gray comics, and my fictional Order of Set cult idea. His suit is based on previous X-Men leather outfits, with the Gantz suits being the heavy influence on his visual style, while making key areas around the suit (collar & gloves) resemble something Egyptian. I also practiced a lot on drawing that head, from every angle and from every look to nail it down. In fact, when one of my friends was making a Jackal themed character, I instructed him on designing the character’s helmet based on my own experiences in drawing jackal-inspired headwear. Just wanted to make that special anecdote known.
#19 Boss Gravity
Boss Gravity
“What goes up…”
An up-and-coming boxer who was constantly tempted to turn to a life of crime, the man now known as Boss Gravity was injured in the same accident that resulted in The Smart Brothers having to leave their old headquarters. B.G. lost his arms, and that made the choice between boxing and crime. He was refitted with experimental “gravity arms” designed for work in deep space, and began taking over the illegal super-science racket with the same single-minded determination that had led him to victory in the ring.
“I’m that fundamental force mayne.”
A lot of crime lords, mafiosos and thugs, all unhappy with his domination of the experimental tech racket, have tried to bring him down. Most of them have either knuckled under or disappeared. His street name comes from the resulting truism, in crime as well as science: “You can’t fight gravity.”
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of your situation.”
The cops have turned to the Smart Brothers out of desperation, and they’ve managed to disrupt Boss Gravity’s operations. He realizes that they’re responsible for his condition, and has begun plans to destroy them, utterly.
Also, and it’s a small thing? Some chump-ass rapper’s out there calling himself Boss Gravity, “as an homage”, “out of respect”. This just get’s under B.G.’s skin, and he sees it as an example of how the universe is out to get him. He’s vowed to end this rapper’s career as well.
“These arrogant assholes always thinkin’ they can fly. But Gravity — it always brings you down in the end.”
#10 Retaliation Suit
Retaliation Suit
The Retaliation Suit appears whenever someone feels a moment of truly Righteous Fury at the injustice in the universe. It is a giant, amorphous invincible robot, which targets those who are behind its pilot’s misfortunes. The Retaliation Suit cannot be stopped until those responsible have been beaten, ruined, or destroyed.
Pictured above are three of the suit’s recent pilots:
Madge Fairweather, a kindly grandmother of three who, after losing her job, her pension, and her house (even though the bank lacked the paperwork) was told that her husband was ineligible for an operation by her insurance company. The woman snapped, and the Retaliation Suit found the bureaucrats responsible and saved the house, while destroying the related businesses.
Julie Chu, a conservationist whose breaking point after dealing with endless corruption and bureaucracy, discovered that the animal she was trying to save was now extinct in the wild. The Retaliation Suit created a swath of destruction that annihilated poachers, illegal fur and horn traders, and corrupt bureaucrats alike.
Ron Campbell, a gay teen who was bullied by kids, parents, and school officials on a daily basis. When the principal chose not to punish the rich kids who brutally beat him and posted the pictures on the internet, the Retaliation Suit appeared to mete out justice.
No one knows where it comes from — Julie’s best guess is the it’s how the universe feels, for a moment, the satisfying retribution of setting the world right.
(posted at 12:02 – damn!)
#10 : Stasis
A researcher that works as an adventurer, Stasis
An advanced expert in the field of energy fields and field generation, Rebecca Styles discovered a method of creating variable spatial distortion and manipulation fields contained in the form of energy spheres. As she researched deeper into her discovery, she found that the spheres can be made to be capable of either manipulating gravity, slowing down time, and conducting energy. Rebecca was about to present her findings, when she overheard that her research team were about to be absorbed into Archangel Industries and that all focus will be used for military and weapons applications, Rebecca fled with her findings and developed them in secret at a safehouse she installed, until she saw various news networks reporting the influx of superhumans battles and the advanced tech used by many villains resembled aspects of not only her research, but of several other scientists, who have been turning up dead under mysterious circumstances. Fearing for her life and feeling responsible for the harm her tech is causing, Rebecca crafts a set of gauntlets and a portable power supply and set out to combat these tech-based villains as Stasis.
Stasis has fought several villains and has crusaded in an uphill battle against Archangel, until she was approached by both the Alchemist and Azrael into starting up a united team of superpowers to combat not just the large threats, but to aid each other into their respective personal battles. Stasis was intially hesistant as she views herself more of scientist than crimefighter, but was eventually swayed into joining with help from Azrael’s own personal feud with Archangel and the Alchemist’s own deal with the Loman Organization in consulting.
Now going by the name Ashley Howell, Rebecca is under the protection of the Loman Organization, working as a lab consultant for their airships and teleporters while operating as one of the founding members of the Frontline.
Abilities: Rebecca/Ashley’s suit is designed to project and manipulate various energy fields in the form of spheres that range in the following types:
Gravity: Alters the density of gravity enabling flight or dense enough to as crushing melee bursts.
Time Distortion: Able to slow down or accelerate the speed of any object contained within its sphere of influence.
Energy: Able to contain and disperse vast stores of energy collected via kinetic motion.
Rebecca/Ashley is a skilled scientist in technology and particle research while possessing a moderate degree of hand-to-hand combat experience.
Creation: The character was designed as an aid to include a strong female character and her look was initially inspired by Wally West Flash Villain, Magenta, until I added the visor faceplate and redesigned her look to incorporate the gauntlets and a power bracer around her waist. The pose I got from referencing Storm on the X-Men.
#8 Smart Brothers
Smart Brothers
The Smart Brothers are Hephaestus and Hannibal Smart, genius brothers who own a Super-Science Security Firm. Hephaestus is a physicist and engineer, who hides his dedication behind snarly, sullen sarcasm, while Hannibal is a biologist and master strategist, and a charismatic, smooth talker. United by their pursuit and development of experimental devices, they disagree on nearly everything else.
They were originally based in the prestigious Ebony Tower, but were forced to leave after a high-energy particle physics accident (where Heph lost his leg). As part of a related legal settlement, they were required to open a community center in the part of the city they’d damaged. They relocated their business there as well, and revitalized by proximity to the city’s diverse residents, opened up more community Smart Centers, to educate and mentor folks in the sciences.
In addition to protecting homes and businesses against Science Criminals, the two also moonlight as bounty hunters and fixers, tracking down outbreaks of Rogue Science and testing their out their new inventions. Being back in the community and away from the Ebony Tower has grounded them, and they’ve sworn to educate and defend the generally science-ignorant populace they previously despised. These local heroes’ adventures are followed, a la The Warriors, by a couple of radio personalities, Sunshine Starr and DJ Desmond Doom.
#30Characters Chatter…